Water authority rejects consultant with checkered past

Regional water authority officials on Wednesday rejected a Southern California consulting firm run by a former Oxnard official who was embroiled in a financial improprieties scandal.

The water authority board unanimously declined to sign a contract with BASE Water Resources Consulting and Management to conduct a comparison study of three desalination proposals after learning about company principal Ken Ortega's past.

As reported on The Herald's website earlier Wednesday, Ortega resigned as Oxnard's public works director in June 2010 during the early stages of an investigation by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office into allegations that he and several other city officials misused public funds, failed to report gifts from firms doing business with the city and were engaged in potential conflicts of interest.

The two-year investigation ended in April with no criminal charges, though some of the findings were forwarded to the state Fair Political Practices Commission for possible further investigation.

Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett, a member of the authority board, said it was essential to maintain the public trust and ensure any consulting firm came without baggage.

BASE had been recommended by an authority subcommittee led by Monterey Peninsula Water Management District general manager David Stoldt, who informed the board about Ortega's past during Wednesday night's special meeting.

Authority chairman Chuck Della Sala also read a brief excerpt from a report on the Ventura County investigation before the board decided to reject the deal.

The board directed Stoldt to seek another consulting firm to conduct the desal project study, which is estimated to cost $80,000 and will include proposals from California American Water, the People's Desal Project and DeepWater Desal. Stoldt promised to find a new consulting firm for the authority by early next week. The goal is to finish the study by the end of August, in time for the authority to use its findings during testimony before the state Public Utilities Commission in mid-September on Cal Am's proposed water supply project.

BASE had earned praise for consulting work for the city of Monterey last fall when the firm evaluated potential water supply alternatives. It was one of just two firms to submit formal proposals to conduct the comparison study. The other, GEI Consulting, was originally chosen for the study but bowed out after revealing it had a conflict of interest involving Cal Am because the firm is one of several qualified bidders on the San Clemente Dam removal project.

BASE had offered to do the work for $58,000, Stoldt said.

According to a report on the Ventura County investigation, Ortega neglected to properly report gifts, such as Los Angeles Lakers tickets provided by an official for Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, whose city contracts he admitted he had approved.

The investigation also concluded that Kennedy/Jenks had been paid through an artificially inflated contract for its contribution to an opulent grand opening celebration for a new city desalter facility. And the report found that Ortega and other city officials had used taxpayer funds to pay for an expensive, extended trip to New York.

Also Wednesday, the authority board and the water management district, through Stoldt, agreed to collaborate on a proposal for public financing and governance in Cal Am's water supply project. Stoldt told the board the water district is already working on a project cost analysis that is set to be unveiled at the district board's Aug. 20 meeting.